RECOMMENDED METHODOLOGY FOR RELAY SETTINGS OF

UNCOMPENSATED TRANSMISSION LINES

Page 108
Appendix-9.1
(Page 1/7 of Appendix)
1. ZONE-1 REACH SETTING:
Zone-1: To be set to cover 80% of protected line length. Set zero sequence compensation
factor KN as (Z0 – Z1) / 3Z1.
Where:
Z1= Positive sequence impedance of the protected line
Z0 = Zero sequence impedance of the protected line
Note: With this setting, the relay may overreach when parallel circuit is open and grounded
at both ends. This risk is considered acceptable.
2. ZONE-2 REACH SETTING:
Zone-2: To be set to cover minimum 120% of length of principle line section. However, in
case of double circuit lines 150% coverage must be provided to take care of under
reaching due to mutual coupling effect. Set K
N
as (Z
0
–Z
1
) / 3Z
1.
The 150% setting is arrived at considering an expected under reach of about 30% when
both lines are in parallel and a margin of 20%. The degree of under reach can be
calculated using equation K
0M
/ 1+K
0
Where K
0M
=Z
0M
/ 3Z
1
and K
0
= (Z
0
–
Z
1
) / 3Z
1
. It is recommended to check the degree of under reach due to
mutual coupling effect to be sure that setting of 150% is adequate.
Sometimes impedance so selected might enter the next voltage level. However, unselectivity
in
the
Zone-2
grading
is
generally
not
to
be
expected

when in-feeds exist at the

remote sub-station as they reduce the overreach considerably.
This holds good for majority of the cases, however, for certain cases, where in-feed from
other feeder at the local bus is not significant, Zone-2 of remote end relay may see the fault
at lower voltage level. Care has to be taken for all such cases by suitable time delay.
3. ZONE-3 REACH SETTING:
Zone-3 distance protection can offer time-delayed remote back-up protection for an
adjacent transmission circuit. To achieve this, Zone-3 distance elements must be set
according to the following criteria where possible.
Zone-3 should overreach the remote terminal of the longest adjacent line by an acceptable
margin (typically 20% of highest impedance seen) for all fault conditions.
Set K
N
as (Z
0
–Z
1
) / 3Z
1.

Report of the Task Force on Power System Analysis Under Contingencies

Appendix-9.1
(Page 2/7 of Appendix)
However, in such case where Zone-3 reach is set to enter into next lower voltage level,
Zone-3 timing shall be coordinated with the back-up protection (Directional over current
and earth fault relay) of power transformer. Where such coordination cannot be realized, it
is recommended to carry out simulation studies for relay reach & time coordination and
suitable solution may be devised. Some of the typical solution can be like application of
back up distance protection for power transformer, duplicated protection for downstream
220kV feeders or special protection scheme logic. Similar issues, if encountered for Zone-2
reach setting, should also be addressed in the above manner.
4. RESISTIVE REACH SETTING
For phase to ground faults, resistive reach should be set to give maximum coverage
considering fault resistance, arc resistance & tower footing resistance. It has been
considered that ground fault would not be responsive to line loading.
For Zone-1 resistive reach, attention has to be given to any limitations indicated by
manufacturer in respect of resistive setting vis-a-vis reactance setting to avoid overreach
due to remote in-feed. It is recommended to study the impact of remote end in-feed for
expected power flow & fault resistance on the extent of overreach. This is particularly
important for short lines.
In case of phase to phase fault, resistive reach should be set to provide coverage against
all types of anticipated phase to phase faults subject to check of possibility against load
point encroachment considering minimum expected voltage and maximum load expected
during short time emergency system condition.

It is recommended that all the distance relays should have quadrilateral / polygon
characteristic. For relays having Mho characteristic, it is desirable to have load
encroachment prevention characteristic or a blinder.
In the absence of credible data regarding minimum voltage and maximum load expected
for a line during emergency system condition, following criteria may be considered for
deciding load point encroachment:
 Maximum load current (Imax) may be considered as 1.5 times the thermal rating of
the line or 1.5 times the associated bay equipment current rating (the minimum of
the bay equipment individual rating) whichever is lower. (Caution: The rating
considered is approximately 15minutes rating of the transmission facility).
 Minimum voltage (Vmin) to be considered as 0.85pu (85%).
Due to in-feeds, the apparent fault resistance seen by relay is several times the actual
value. This should be kept in mind while arriving at resistive reach setting for Zone-2 and
Zone-3.